Nicky Windrem will never forget the thrill of running onto the field as part of the first all-female support crew to work a game in the Canadian Football League.
Also unforgettable: the cheers from a group of female football players witnessing a night of history at McMahon Stadium.
“They were all waiting to come out for the national anthem and unravel the flag,” Windrem says of the elite group who were in Calgary for the U18 Women’s National Championships. “You could just see the pride. They were cheering us on, and it was really moving for me.”
In truth, it’s rare for anyone in zebra stripes to hear anything resembling a cheer (outside of sarcasm) — from players, coaches or fans. But the all-woman support crew received a resounding ovation from the crowd on July 23 in a 23-21 Montreal victory over the hometown Calgary Stampeders.
“It was awesome,” Windrem says. “It was exciting. It was, for me, a personal dream come true.”
DIVERSITY IS STRENGTH
» Diversity is Strength stories, podcasts and much more
» Listen: Diversity is Strength Conversations podcast
» More information about the Diversity in Football Program presented by Securian Canada
» Subscribe to the CFL’s newsletter for exclusive offers and league updates
Making CFL history! 👏
Tonight marks a meaningful milestone for women in football, as an all-female CFL support crew takes the sidelines for the first time. pic.twitter.com/EAk5X1e3Iq
— CFL (@CFL) July 25, 2025
Windrem and Shawna Vollema worked the sticks alongside Lori Turski (downsbox operator) and Laura McKenzie (lone pole). Tatrina Medvescek and Kathy Williams served as ball girls. Emma Sharp and Allexxa Diab worked as ball coordinators. And Emily Clarke served as the penalty coordinator.
“I kind of thought this was going to be something quiet,” says Clarke, who is working a full schedule this season as a CFL official. “I didn’t expect TSN to be waiting for us with cameras and that sort of thing.
“I hope a lot of people took note of how many ponytails were out on the field.”
For Clarke, football firsts are nothing new.
In 2019, Clarke and Georgina Paull made history as the first female officials to work a CFL game. In 2022, Clarke became the first woman to officiate a CFL playoff game. And a year later, she ran out onto the field as first female head referee in USports Football.
The firsts keep coming with Clarke serving in May as the first female head referee in a USports East-West Bowl.
“We wait for the day where this just becomes the norm and it doesn’t get talked about,” says Clarke, who also works as a substitute teacher in the Bow Valley west of Calgary and as a coach with the Lake Louise Ski Club. “But until there’s more of us, I think It’s great to see the visibility and have this noted and on the radar for people.”
The idea for the all-female support crew started to percolate when Windrem asked if it might be possible to work the sticks for the first time at the CFL level Montreal-Calgary game.
(Windrem lives in Whitby, Ont., and her association is not affiliated with a CFL team.)
That got Clarke thinking. With so many officials in town for U18 Women’s National Championships, maybe they could fill out the whole crew with women?
The idea received full support from Boris Velcic (Calgary’s game day supervisor) and Darren Hackwood (VP, CFL Officiating), along with referee Ritchie Miller and the on-field crew.
“The Calgary Stampeders’ equipment manager, George Hopkins, came over and said, ‘This is fantastic,’” Clarke said of the on-field reaction to the all-female crew. “A couple of our guys who are usually ball boys — they were helping coordinate running all the footballs in and out — commented, `The players were handing you the ball. They were picking it up off the ground and giving it to you.’ They’re like, ‘They don’t normally do that for us.’ We got a laugh out of that.”
In Clarke’s ideal world, that special night in Calgary will lead to more women joining Paul, Sharon Aiery and herself as on-field officials in the CFL.
“I hope seeing that puts the idea in any young girl’s head, and even older women as well,” says Clarke. “There’s an opportunity there, and you can go and jump in at any level — right from the grassroots — and be a part of it.”
I first started covering the CFL in 2001 as a beat writer for The Edmonton Journal. Back then, I rarely saw any women working in the game outside of the odd reporter, the cheerleaders and the office staff.
These days, they’re everywhere — coaches, football operations staff, officials and, now, an all-female support crew.
“It’s about what you leave behind — your legacy,” Windrem says. “What are people going to think about you when you die? And I know for me, I want to make a difference.
“I’m Black. I want all girls — but Black girls as well — to know they can achieve anything.”